D.C. POLICE CAR HITS PEDESTRIAN

A police cruiser chasing a stolen car went out of control last night on Michigan Avenue NW, hitting and injuring a pedestrian, officials said.

The accident occurred about 6:30 p.m. in front of Children's Hospital, when the cruiser, its lights flashing and siren blaring, swerved to avoid a taxicab and sped across the oncoming lane of traffic into a fence, a witness said.

Rosemary Akimboni, the taxi driver, said the pedestrian, who was walking next to the fence, was lifted onto the hood of the police car and carried several feet. His head cracked the windshield of the car, she said.

Both the driver of the police car and the pedestrian were taken to nearby Washington Hospital Center. A hospital spokeswoman said that the pedestrian was in fair condition and that the officer was treated and released. Neither was identified.

A police officer at the scene said the officer was alone in the car. Members of the Rapid Deployment Unit also were chasing the stolen car. They later stopped it and arrested one of its occupants, the officer said.

The police car destroyed about 20 yards of fence surrounding a construction site at Children's Hospital before swerving back into the middle of the street.

I edit state and local politics coverage and immigration coverage, both national and local. In more than 15 years as a reporter for The Washington Post, I covered crime, education, religion, gentrification and poverty.